Medicine glass cover



Feb. 25, 1936. I JOHNSON 2,031,892

MEDIC INE GLASS COVER Filed May 3, 1935 ylnuualllll irilll INVENTOREDWARD JOHNSON BY ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES Patented Feb. 25, 1936 PATENT OFFICE MEDICINE GLASS COVER-Edward Johnson, Montclair, N. J., assignmto Meinecke & Company, NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application May 3, 1935,SerlalNO. 19,650

4 Claims.

My invention relates to a new and improved medicine glass cover and moreparticularly to means connected with the cover for indicating not onlythe patients name, but the kind of medicine and the time of taking themedicine for each patient.

f The invention is an improvement upon that described and claimed in myPatent No. 1,920,396.

While the invention shown and covered in that patent has met with verysubstantial commercial success, it did not fully meet all therequirements of hospitals, which are more fully hereinafter referredto.. 7

It is now the practice in most hospit; f the medicinal prescriptions forthe various patients to be made up in what is known as a hospital drugroom and these prescriptions are then kept in a medicine closet on eachfloor of the hospital.

At the various times when patients are to be given their medicines, thedesired dose is poured into a medicine tumbler, or when the medicine isin the iorm of pills or capsules, it may be placed in the depressed partof the cover, as shown in this application and in my prior patent. Thetumblers are then placed on a tray with a number of other tumblers fordifierent patients. According to the methods now used in most hospitals,in order to identify each patients tumbler, a card with the patientsname and room or ward number and instructions for taking the medicinewritten thereon is placed either under the tumbler or on top of it.

If the card is placed on the top of the tumbler,

" the cards are liable to fall off while the tray is being carried fromone room to another or from one patients bed to another. Sometimes thesecards, that have fallen ofi, are placed on the wrong tumblers andsometimes with serious results. If the cards are placed under thetumblers, the names cannot be read and, furthermore, occasionally theliquid spills over the tumbler so that the card becomes soiled, makingit necessary to write up a new card.

Most hospitals have now adopted a plan of having color charts toindicate the type of medicine or the proper or approximate time forgiving such medicine to each patient. For instance, a red card mayindicate medicines to relieve pain and induce sleep, and such medicineis to be given at once. A blue card may indicate medicine to beadministered twice a day. A green card may indicate medicine to be givenfour times a. day. A yellow card may indicate medicines to be givenbefore meals. It is understood that each color may indicate a differenttime orhour when the medicine has to be given, or, in some cases, mayindicate a special kind of medicine. In some hospitals as many as nineor ten colors are used. These colors cannot be considered standardbecause most hospitals establish their own particular set of colorcharts, depending upon the size of the hospital and the character of thepatients admitted.

when preparing medicines, a small colored identification card is usedwith the name of the patient or room number and this small coloredidentification card must correspond with the ofiicial color chartadopted by the hospital so that nurses can tell at a glance just. whenand how often the medicine is to be given.

The object of the present invention is to provide a safe method forhaving the cards with the name of the patient or room number andinstructions for taking the medicine retained on the tumblers to whichthey belong and at the same time keep the written matter on the cardplainly in. view.

A further object of the invention is to permit the cards containing thematter above mentioned to be made of different colored paper orcardboard, which colors correspond with the colors on a. chart kept inthe hospital room.

My invention consists essentially of a cover which fits over the topedge of a medicine tumbler and is securely held thereon by a dependentflange or side of the cover which surrmmds' the greater part of thecover and also surrounds the greater part of the tumbler. The said coverhas means, preferably formed integral therewith, for holding the coloredcard with the patients name, etc., which belongs to the respectivetumbler.

Inaddition, the cover has a depression or depressions in the top thereoffor holding medicinal pills, whenever medicine is to be given to thepatient in that form, or in conjunction with the liquid contents of thetumbler.

The device is usually made of metal, but it will be understood that anysuitable material can be used.

The invention is illustrated in the following tum havlng a card securedthereon, the dotted lines showing the outline of theportion of thedevice covered by the card.

The device consists preferably of a sheet of metal 6 having a depressionI stamped in the center thereof. The top of-the member 6 is extended fora distance of approximately one quarter of the circumference of thetumbler, as shown at 8. On the extended portion 8 a pair of clips 9 areeitherstamped out of or secured to the top 'of the member 8 to permitthe insertion of a card Ill of any desired color, as in Fig. 4. Thecover has a depending flange I l shown more clearly'in Figs. 2 and 3,which flts over the top of the tumbler and holds the cover in place. a

While the card holding members 9 are'shown in the drawingas beingstamped out and rising up from the member 8, in the form of a clip, itwill be understood that other card holding means could be formed on the.cover. The card holding means could also be formed by bending the frontpart bf the extending member 8 back upon itself to permit the insertionand holding of a card. While I have shown the extension 8 as beingformed integral with the medicine tumbler cover, it will be understoodthat it could be made, if desired, of a separate piece of metal to besecured orattached to th medicine cover itself.

I claim:

1. A medicine glass cover comprising a plate having a central depressionadapted to seat within a glass and forming'a receptacle for medicines,

a depending flange extending around a portion of the periphery thereofand cooperating with the walls of said central depression to form agroove adapted to receive the upper edge of the glass, .an extension ofsaid plate between the ends of said depending flange projecting beyondthe sides of the glass, and clips carried by said extension adaptedtoreceive the edge of a card to hold the card in position over the platewhereby the insignia on said card are visible and whereby said c'ardserves as a cover for said depression.

2. A medicine-glasscorer comprising a metal plate having acentral'depression adapted to seat within a glass andform'ing areceptacle for medicines, a depending. :flange extending around aportion of the periphery thereof and cooperating with the walls of saidcentral depression to form a groove adapted toreceive the upper edge ofthe glass, an extension ofsaid platebetween the ends of said depending.fl'ange pro'jecting beyond the sides of the glass, and clips stampedout of said extension adapted remove the edge of-a card to hold the cardin pa ition oger the plate whereby the insignia on 's ai ard are visibleand whereby said card serves as vcover for said deprssion. f

3. A'medicinegla' c'o i pmprising aplate having acentraldepressionadapted to seat within a glass and forming arec'eptaclefor medicines, 9. depending flange'extendingaround a portion of theperiphery thereof and cooperating V with the walls of saidcentraidepression to form a groove adapted to receive the. upper edgevof theglass and card-holding means formed integrally with said coverbetween the ends-10f said depending.

flange, said means' projecting above the top surface of said cover; toengage. the edge of the card so as to hold the card-in place over thecover. withcover so as tofengage'and hold a card inv position over thecover without concealing the insignia'on EDWARD JOHNSON.

' said card.

